Evening Star
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Evening Star is basically an enhanced Southern Belle - a steam engine simulator - with the route changed to early 1960s Somerset and Dorset line (from Bath to Bournemouth, England) and the locomotive being BR standard class 9F (2-10-0) "Evening Star" (number 92220, the last British steam engine built) hauling the "Pines Express".

The game has a demonstration mode and seven scenarios of increased difficulty with the highest level allowing you full control of the train, with all the gauges to watch, more problems that arise and a random timetable to follow. You start at a standstill in the station and must get your train moving. Different levels of speed must be maintained on the track to keep with the speed limits that are placed on the track and keep an eye on the signals that you will see on the way. The correct use of the whistle must be used and you have to make sure your water, steam and coal levels are correct to make sure you keep to the timetable.

The game is viewed from a first person perspective with you in the cab of the train with all the levers and gauges in front of you. You are able to see into the distance in front of you and the sides. As well as the main playing area you can also see your speed, water and coal level, any signals, gradient (slope) indicator and the time.

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Evening Star is a vector graphics Train Simulation type game for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, BBC Micro, Acorn Electron and Amstrad CPC. This game is the sequel to Southern Belle.

Gameplay

The idea of the game is to successfully get the "Evening Star" from Bath to its destination Bournemouth on the old Somerset and Dorset line. The objectives are keeping to the tight timetable, earning points for safety and economy, and obeying signals. Stops are made at stations along your route to pick up passengers.

Other features

Technically the game was an improvement on the sister game "Southern Belle". There were lots more curves included along the line, along with additional lineside buildings and features. Also, the steepness of the gradients was much improved, though this was only because the Somerset and Dorset line was much hillier than the Brighton line.

However, the gameplay remained pretty much identical to that of "Southern Belle", and the two games were similar enough for the casual gamer to mistake one game for the other. That said, the average railway enthusiast was able to see the improvements which were featured on "Evening Star".

Programming errors

The most notable programming error of both this game and "Southern Belle" was that the framerate was very slow, with the graphics updating only once per second. This was particularly notable when playing the game on "Fast" mode (speeded up x5).

Also, very often the engine would run out of coal about four miles from the end of the journey, when playing either the "Long Stopper" or "Pines Express" levels. This was because you were not given sufficient coal at the beginning of the game in order to complete the full route. However, this was less of a problem when you were only driving part of the route (e.g. Short Stopper and Signalling).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evening_Star_(video_game)
